Gunpowder Angels
by brittany.heye
Summary: Meet Special Agent Annie Hill. She is a highly trained operative working on quite the case. She is about to meet the LA team when the most recent aspect of her case brings her to LA. Agent Hill already knows Hetty and one other member of this elite team. She brings with her mystery and a case that is going to be tough to crack. ** A Densi AU with ties to NCIS: New Orleans
1. Chapter 1

"All in a day's work. Freeing an innocent Marine and stopping bombings. Your team is good Hetty."

The small woman gave her a knowing grin. "Yes Ms. Hill, they are. Which is why you are here. Or so I have been told."

The younger woman nodded. "Well that and to see an old friend but yes. I need your help Hetty. This is coming from the Director's desk. I suspect that Assistant Director Granger is being briefed at the moment. Tomorrow we will brief the rest of them. Hetty, this is big and bad."

The smaller woman frowned. "How bad?"

"I've been on this case for almost six months Hetty and I have nothing."

The team gathered in ops, they had received an alert for a case early. It was barely seven am and they were all gathered in the ops center waiting to be briefed. "Nell, what's the delay?" The analyst looked at Callen and shook her head. "We were told to wait for Granger."

The doors to ops slid open and the man himself walked in, along with Hetty and someone else. Before anyone could say anything Kensi reacted.

"A? What are you doing here?"

The young woman behind their boss and her boss smiled at Kensi. "I wish I could say it was all play K but it's not." Kensi stepped forward, tugging the other woman into a hug, prompting an eyebrow raise from her partner and the other two agents in the room.

They all swept their eyes over the girl. She looked more like a model than someone with security clearance to their building but then again, so did their very own badass Blye. The woman was dressed similarly to their own female agent. Skinny jeans, and a simple red Henley and black combat boots. Her hair was up in a simple ponytail.

The two women separated and Kensi grinned at her team. "Guys, this is Special Agent Annie Hill, we trained together at FLETC."

Hetty chuckled. "You gentlemen are in the presence of the first and second place graduates of the 2006 NCIS FLETC class." The two girls shared a smirk. "I like to think of A as my first partner." The girl laughed. "And your best Blye, or have I been replaced?"

Deeks' eyebrow rose, but Kensi just laughed. "This is special agent G Callen," Callen stepped forward to shake her hand and Agent Hill smirked. "Ah yes, I have heard of you." Callen's face went from neutral to surprised but the agent revealed nothing else. Kensi waved at Sam, "Agent Sam Hanna."

Sam stepped forward and shook her hand. Kensi turned to Eric and Nell. "Our tech operator Eric Beale and our Intel Analyst Nell Jones." Both waved at her and then Kensi turned to Deeks. "My partner, LAPD lesion Marty Deeks."

Deeks felt distinctly like he was under a microscope as the woman stepped forward to shake his hand and swept her eyes over him. "Huh, interesting." His eyebrow once again quirked but Kensi just laughed. "Play nice A." The woman turned her attention back to Kensi with a playful smirk. "Way to ruin all my fun K. Sadly I guess that is my cue."

She moved to stand in front of the screen and nodded at Nell. "I have brought you all a case, my case. I've been working this for nearly six months and well, I could use the help of one of the agencies A teams."

"One of?" The agent smirked at Callen. "You are not the only special ops team, or A team, and you know it Callen." She smiled at the team, "anyway, I could use your help and Director Vance finally authorized it so here I am."

Hetty moved to stand next to her. "Ms. Jones." Nell nodded and the screen flooded with pictures. Agent Hill took a deep breath before launching into her briefing. "Six months ago Jeramiah Harrison was found dead in his garage. Apparent suicide by car." The picture popped up, along with a military id badge and career sheet. Sam sucked in a breath.

"He was a SEAL." Agent Hill nodded. "Yes. Jeramiah was 26 years old. Young for a SEAL but a damn good one. He was attached to a black ops unit that has carried out missions in Asia, Africa and most of the Middle East. He did not commit suicide. He was dying before he was put in that car. He was murdered. I was brought in to work the case. He was found dead in his Georgia home."

She nodded at Nell, who again clicked a button. "Four weeks later I had nearly nothing when I got the alert." Another dead body filled the screen. This one was charred. "Meet Petty Officer Arron Boyle, a Navy SEAL." Sam sighed, "let me guess, the same unit as Harrison?"

"Correct Agent Hanna. Boyle was retired, he left the teams not long after Harrison joined. In fact, he trained him to be his replacement on the squad. He died in an apparent car accident, the charred body is thanks to an overheated gas tank. He too was murdered. It was small but the ME found evidence of a puncture wound on his neck and trace amounts of poison in his system. He was found three blocks from his house in Texas."

Another nod and another body. "I still had nothing, no evidence no DNA. And then another body dropped. This is Navy SEAL Tony Garrison, he died about a month ago in New Orleans. I was called in when they realized it was my same squad. Again, apparent accidental death, and again murdered with no evidence left to trace it."

"Someone is targeting a SEAL squad." Agent Hill nodded. "Yeah K, and I have almost nothing to go on. These guys are pros. The squad was small, there are only two other men in the unit and their handler. Look, I know what I'm doing and I can't find anything. I requested for this team to be brought in after Garrison. I was denied." Her eyes slid to Granger before looking back at the rest of the team.

"I am here now because we found the squad's handler." More images and information flooded the screen. "This is CIA Agent Marcus Ramirez. He was the handler of the SEAL team, among other things of course. He was found dead yesterday morning in his LA home. He was here as an overnight stop before meeting me and director Vance in DC. When he never made his plane we were alerted and he was found dead."

Granger moved forward. "Director Vance wants us to figure out why this team, and why now. We also need to find the other two missing team members and then ensure they are safe."

"I have calls out to them but they are both still active duty and both currently on mission from what I have been told so that won't be a problem Granger." The man turned an un-friendly eye on the newest agent in the room but she ignored it. "K, I believe you know this one."

An image popped up and Kensi nodded. "Yeah, I didn't know he was a SEAL though." Agent Hill nodded. "Yes, Andy is a SEAL and he and his teammate Frank Reeds are the last two of the four man squad alive. Both on classified missions that no one has been willing to brief me on."

Hetty nodded. "Leave that to me Ms. Hill."

She turned to her team. "We need to find out who is doing this. Agent Hill has been temporarily assigned to our team until we have done so." She gave the young woman a smile, which Agent Hill returned before looking at Kensi. "So K, ready to show these boys why we were one and two?"

Kensi laughed. "A chance to work the field with you? Hell yes." The two girls shared twin smirks to the amusement of everyone else. Callen stepped forward. "So what evidence do you have Agent Hill?"

"Please call me Annie." Callen nodded. "I have hardly anything. The team was sent to capture or take out high value military targets. Based on the inclusion of Jerimiah I was able to narrow down the scope to the Middle East, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq. The team was in and out of the region for the whole year that Harrison was with them before Boyle retired but that is still a lot of cases. The assumption from the director was that Ramirez could help narrow it down but he was on a case of his own until a week ago. We got the meeting but we have nothing. All I have is the evidence that each man was murdered and made to look like either accident or suicide so that tells me that whoever is behind this is trained and they are good. I'm hoping that Ramirez's place or his body will tell us more."

Callen nodded. "Kensi, Deeks, take Annie to the crime scene. She is the most familiar with the case and will know what, if anything to look for. Sam and I will work the team angle and I will try a few contacts at the agency and see if I can get any help in narrowing down the cases in question."

Annie smiled at the other agent. "I'm a step ahead of you Callen. The files on the teams missions are being brought to us by a friend at the agency."

Hetty nodded. "Yes, Agent Carter will meet you at the boatshed." Sam and Callen nodded, leaving ops. Deeks watched as Annie turned to Kensi as Hetty and Granger left ops. "So, you landed yourself on Hetty's team. Nice going girl."

Kensi laughed, "Not bad yourself. I gather that you are the roaming agent I have been hearing rumors about." The other woman chuckled. "That would be me. I spent some time as an agent afloat, and then a few of the travel teams, but Director Vance made me a solo operative about two years ago."

Kensi held out a hand for a high five and received one. "Damn girl, look at you." Annie laughed. "Well Blye, we can't all be top of our class and personally requested by the legend herself." Deeks head whipped to Kensi at that but she was too busy catching up with her friend to notice. "So you gonna tell me why you're the one with the Detective as a partner?"

At that both women turned his attention to him and the new agent smirked. "No offense of course." Kensi laughed and rolled her eyes. "Deeks is good A, he wouldn't be here if he wasn't. Besides, Sam and Callen have been partners for a while."

"Well ladies, as great as this is," Kensi chuckled, "Don't you think we should be going?" Both female agents nodded and he followed them out of the room.

"So A, how is your family?" Annie smiled at her old friend. "Good, my uncle is still in NOLA, my cousin is in school for piano and he is thrilled. My mom is on a cruise at the moment and Isaac is serving his last tour, he comes home in two months and then he gets to figure out civilian life."

Deeks was sitting quietly in the passenger seat, listening to the two women catch up. "I heard about your dad K. I'm glad you got the bastard before he got you." Kensi swallowed. "Thanks. It was…" She trailed off and her friend smiled. "I know K. Don't need more than that." Kensi grinned at the girl.

"Wait, you knew?" Kensi laughed at his shocked expression. "Yes Deeks. Annie is the only person in my life outside the team that I don't have to lie to. And I've known her for a while. I told her that I wanted to know who murdered my father."

Annie shifted in her seat so that she was semi facing him from where he was sitting behind Kensi. "K and I were the only two female graduates of FLETC that year. There were only four to start. The other two washed out leaving her and I. The guys made it a challenge to see how far they could push to get us to quit." Kensi snorted. "Or sleep with them."

She shared a look with the new agent and they both smirked. Deeks got the feeling that these two were a dangerous duo. Hell, he knew how good Kensi was alone, so that was enough to warrant a guess as to how they were together.

"We realized quickly that it was us versus them. We partnered up. We had…similar experiences before joining NCIS." Annie nodded. "My dad died when I was little. My uncle helped my mom out and was the father I didn't have. He is also an NCIS agent, and a damn good one. I already had a bit of training before going to FLETC and I discovered a kindred spirit in K."

"Ahh yes, the weekend trips with the marine dad." Kensi nodded at him in the mirror. Both girls smirked. "Those boys got quite the wakeup call when we out shot them ten ways to Sunday on day one."

Deeks chuckled. "Kensi and I both quickly picked up Sniper training, combat, all of it. We worked twice as hard and moved twice as fast as half those guys. We had to." They shared knowing smirks before Kensi chimed in again.

"Oh yeah, this one here broke a guy's nose sparring after only a few weeks." Annie pretended offense. "Me? Girl you nearly broke a guy's knee!" Kens burst out laughing. "Oh god I had forgotten that!" They both laughed. "Anyway, no one would team up with us after that, because not only were we girls but we showed them up, so we got stuck together all the time."

"Boy did that backfire. They lost top spot to two female agents and most of those guys are probably still at desk jobs." They shared a smirk. "And you two are saving the world. Nice."

The car came to a stop and they all stepped out into the LA sunshine. "I came back to LA after FLETC. Annie reported to a ship and we haven't seen each other since, but we keep in touch."

They all showed badges to the cops around the crime scene taped entrance to the guys house before making their way in. "So the CIA agent matches the other pattern. He was murdered and made to look like a accidental overdose."

Annie and Kensi both slipped into work mode seamlessly. Agent Hill pointed out the line of powder on the table. "The only problem is that Ramirez wasn't a user." She brought up pictures of the body that had of course long been removed. "There's no powder on his face."

Annie nodded, "yeah, and no marks on his arms or legs either, but this batch showed up in his system so my guess is it was forced down his throat. He struggled," she indicated to defensive wounds on the guys hands, "but the cocaine that was found in his system had a strong paralyzer in it. He probably only got one hit in before it was forced on him."

Kensi looked around the room. "Was anything taken A? From the other guys?"

Annie shook her head as they all slipped gloves on and moved about the loft. "No. They seemed to just want them dead. There is no sign of anything missing, no sign of torture, it's like this is revenge rather than intel gathering, which is why I've been trying to narrow down their mission list."

"Well your pattern just changed." Both women looked at him and he held up a cord. "His hardrive is gone. Looks like it was wired to the security camera that I clocked in the hall."

Kensi held up another cord. "And it looks like a tablet or a laptop was taken." Annie's eyebrows wrinkled. "Well I guess he was CIA. That tablet could have operative lists or case details that could be pertinent, especially since he was creating a list of possibles for me. And the hardrive may have caught them on tape and they can't make it easy."

Kensi and Deeks nodded back at her.

They all kept looking around and it was again Hill who spoke first.

"K, the window." Both women moved to the window that was slightly open. The apartment was only a floor off the ground so the ground was pretty close. "Think they left this way?"

"Oh yeah. I would. Look." Kensi pointed out the window. "Open lot, no security cams. Leads to the seedy parts of town where if someone did a facial rec scan we would get about thirty suspects per camera." They shared a look and Deeks watched as they seemed to converse together silently.

"So team or one man?" Both of them turned to look at him. "My guess is this is too big for one guy. Maybe two? But they are good. They don't leave anything behind that can be traced to them. My guess is that coke is street bought and from a guy who is known for experimenting with his cutting agent. He could have been asked to cut with a paralysis but that's highly unlikely, that or we find him dead in an alley somewhere."

"And they know how to avoid detection. They were fine with going after him here, even with potential neighbors as witnesses because they could get out a different way then they came in." Kensi gestured to the window. "Okay, so maybe we knock on some doors, see if anyone heard or saw anything?"

Both girls shrugged. "We could try but I doubt we will get anything. Coroners TOD is between 3 and 4 am." Deeks smirked, "Oh but this is LA. People party late or get up to surf early." Kensi nodded. "He has a point. It's worth a shot A."

"So, Kensi and Annie. What do you think the story is there?" Sam shrugged at his partner. "Seems like old friends form FLETC. Probably stuck together, not many female agents that can be of Kensi's caliber so it's probably nice to have someone they can talk to."

Callen's brow was crinkled. "But how has she heard of me?"

"Who knows G. Maybe Kensi? Maybe someone else in the agency?" Callen huffed. 'Kensi knows not to give out that information. I don't know many low-level NCIS agents and the ones I do know run their own teams or are elsewhere."

"Yeah, yeah. Mr. Ghost." Sam laughed. "Maybe she worked for or with someone you did G. It's not unusual. Why does it bother you?"

Callen shrugged. "Not used to people knowing me when I know nothing about them." Sam glanced at him as they drove to the boatshed. "So what?"

"So, I like to know things and control who knows what about me Sam. That's all."


	2. Chapter 2: A Clue

"So, number one huh?" Deeks smirked at her and Kensi rolled her eyes. "Yeah. It was close but I came out on top." His eyebrow rose and she could guess where his mind was going. She huffed. "Mind out of the gutter partner." His smirk grew and his eyes traveled to her friend. She watched as his eyes swept over her and she fought the twinge of something in her gut.

She knew Annie was pretty. Her long blonde hair fell in waves and her workout routine kept her in excellent shape. Her large green eyes were surrounded by pretty lashes and her slight freckles were the icing on the proverbial cake.

"So you two are close huh?" Kensi smiled at her friend who was speaking to the person in charge of the crime scene before they headed back to ops. "Oh yeah. Like she said, we were kinda forced on each other but she's great. She is also the only person I could call when I got the call from Hetty asking me to be on her team."

The agent in question made her way back to them so Kensi ended the conversation, turning instead to her friend. "Back to ops? We can see if Nell and Eric can trace any laptops or tablets belonging to Ramirez and see what Sam and Callen got from your CIA contact?"

"Sounds good to me K."

The three slid back into the car and Deeks pipped up from behind her almost immediately. "You said you were denied our help once?" She had to work to hide her amusement at her friends offended huff and slight pout. "Yeah. I was told that Assistant Director Granger was out here now and the request would have to go through him. Let's just say that the Assistant Director and I don't have a friendly record, so he denied me on the grounds that there was no ties to LA. I went over his head to Vance when our CIA contact was murdered and he approved it. Didn't win me any favors with Granger but I don't really give a damn."

"Like Uncle like niece huh A?" Kensi shot a smirk at her friend who laughed. "I guess you could say that. Though both my "uncles" don't really like authority." Kensi laughed. "Shocker. Neither do you unless you're the authority. Or its Vance."

"That my dear sweet K is why I am a solo agent. I work better alone. You aside of course." Kensi felt herself smile wide. "Nice to be the exception to the rule." Her friend then turned her sights on her partner.

"So detective Deeks. Tell me, how does an LAPD detective end up with one of the most classified and qualified NCIS teams in the agency?"

Deeks smirked. "I'm just that good sweetheart." Kensi shot him a look in the rearview mirror but he was in a smug staring contest with Annie. "Funny, because I know for a fact that Hetty Lange is known for handpicking her team." Deeks smirk never wavered. "I must be a pretty great detective then huh?"

Kensi smiled gently to herself. He was indeed a good detective. He had only gotten better since joining the team. He was also an asset in the field- thanks to his undercover skills and ties to the LAPD.

"And how do you like working with K? How long have you two been partners?" She glanced at him at the first question and jumped to answer the second. "Almost two years."

"Kensalina is great." She felt a frown slip onto her face, _only great?_ Deeks smirked at Annie. "She is quite the shot."

Annie chuckled at that. "Oh yeah she is. K here was the best damn sniper I knew outside the family." She winked at Kensi who just laughed. She of course knew what Annie was talking about but Deeks wouldn't. "In the family?"

"Oh yes detective. My father was a Marine sniper, my brother followed in his footsteps. I like to think I'm not half bad either." Kensi snorted. "She's good. I had to work hard to come out on top in that particular skill set." She watched Deeks' eyebrow raise at that. He had seen her shoot, knew her skills.

"Please K. You breezed through shooter training. It was combat that we very nearly tied." She felt a slight blush spread over her cheeks. Okay so maybe she was a better sniper than her friend. "Still A, your no joke with a rifle."

She caught the fascination in Deeks gaze. She knew he was curious about her, the past she kept so close to her chest. She was curious about him to but they both were keeping things close to the vest, though having Annie here would possibly mean a few of those secrets could be exposed.

Her friend placed a hand over her eyes, groaning about sunlight bringing Kensi back to the present. "Check the glove box, I think I slipped a spare pair in there." Annie shot her a wide smile. "Thanks babe. I left in such a hurry mine are probably still in the Camaro."

Kensi laughed. "You still drive it?"

"Um, hell yes! I am a babe magnet in that car!" Kensi snorted. Deeks laughed. She got the feeling that these two together would be interesting.

They pulled back into the mission, Kensi and Annie still bickering about music. "Come on K. The damn techno kills me! I still don't get how you like that crap! Rock, country, blues, anything but that!" Deeks chuckled.

He got the feeling that this woman knew his partner and knew her well. Maybe even better than him. She could probably tell him things about Kensi that he didn't know which made her fascinating. She wasn't hard on the eyes either but he was also well aware of his new proclivity for brunettes that liked to punch him. _Not that he was admitting that to himself. Nope, no way._

They strode into the mission, he fell into step behind them watching the ease with which Kensi interacted with her friend and he had to smile. It was nice to see her this loose and free. She wasn't often this open. At least not in his presence.

He followed the duo up to ops. "Nell, Eric I need you to locate any laptops or tablets that CIA agent Ramirez had okay? They were missing from his house. Also, it's a long shot but can you check the cameras on the other side of the lot behind his building and flag anything suspicious? We will then compare it to the files that Sam and Callen are getting."

Nell and Eric nodded, turning back to their screens, fingers flying. The doors to ops slid open, revealing Granger. At the same time that the phone in ops rang and was answered. It was Callen.

"We have a few leads from the CIA. Their best guesses are five missions. All involving terrorists, so there is the possibility that a terrorist organization is retaliating but the fact that they have that information means that this could be a hint to a larger breach."

"Agent Callen is correct. With the death of CIA agent Ramirez the agency is doing a sweep of all of his cases and his files. They found a few that he had flagged. A few of them involved Alpha Charlie, the SEAL unit in question."

Annie met his eyes. "The flags were most likely cases he was bringing to the director and I. We were supposed to meet last night. When he didn't make his flight we knew he had been another target. What we can't figure out is how they knew he was here because he only got in to LA a few hours before when the Coroner says he died. A leak would explain that maybe, if they had access to his phone or computer."

Eric piped up. "It looks like Agent Ramirez had a laptop through the bureau. Taking it would be worthless unless they have someone that can get around the CIA encryption. All the laptops for them are heavily protected. I can possibly remotely track it."

"His phone was still on the body, so taking the cam footage and the laptop means that they are just covering their tracks." Kensi nodded at her friend. "Okay so we need the files. Nell, when you get them, fine tooth comb. Anything that stands out. Same with the footage."

Nell nodded, and Annie met her friends eyes and he watched his partner share the look. "You make the call A."

"I know K." Everyone looked confused but the two were locked in their own conversation. "I think we need to see where we can get first. Before I go down that road. No, I want to see how far we can get first."

"Okay then."

With that said Annie moved to leave but Granger stopped her. "Agent Hill, you haven't slept. You should go take a minute. I'm sure the team will…"

"Thanks Assistant director but I'm good." The frost in the words was felt in the whole center. Deeks watched his partner glance at Granger before following her friend out. He made to follow them but was stopped by Granger.

"She is a loose cannon. I want her contained on this. Make sure your partner understands that." Deeks smirked at him and just continued on his way, though his mind was trying to figure out what Granger meant by loose cannon.

By the time he had exited ops the girls weren't in sight so he went searching. He found them leaning against a wall in a quieter part of the building. Their voices drifting to him before the sight of them.

"I knew him K. I had to look his wife in the eye and lie to her, and I still have to. I can't keep lying. He had a son. He's about to turn two and his father was murdered and I can't even tell his mom that we caught the bastards."

"I take it Jeramiah was a friend of Devin's." He heard his partner's words and froze. "Yeah K. The only one that told him he was being a hypocritical ass. He was a good guy. I didn't even know he was a SEAL. Then I had to pull up at his house, see his wife sobbing and his body."

Deeks frowned. _That had to suck._ "I'm so sorry A." He heard a deep intake of breath and assumed it was the newest team member. "I want to get these guys K. It's why I pushed so hard for this team to be brought in. You guys have an impeccable track record, especially with cases like this. I needed an A team. Granger just doesn't like that I'm a young agent with old school tactics. He also was one of the few who thought this case was SEAL on SEAL. I'm surprised he hasn't tried to go there yet."

"SEAL on SEAL?"

"K, these guys are well trained. Most of the deaths until the most recent were similar to missions they carried out. The remaining members would have known where these guys were, how to get to them, all of it. So Granger and the few others that know suspect that they were all in on something together and it went south or something made one target the rest. I think that's bullshit. So does Director Vance which is why I'm finally here. Granger knew about the death of the CIA agent. He wanted the CIA to handle it. He doesn't want me here."

Kensi sighed. "A, you can ignore him for now. Believe me, Callen and Hetty don't really want him here either. Hetty runs the show here and she's made that completely clear. So just steer clear of him and let's get them."

He rounded the corner in time to see the two women hug and Kensi chuckle at something Annie whispered in her ear. "Well ladies, what's next?" They both separated and met his eyes, and instead of one set of determined eyes he had two. Their expressions were eerily similar. "Are Callen and Sam back?"

He shook his head. " Then we go over what A has so far. Then when they get back we compare it with the records provided by the CIA."

They all jumped at the sound of Hetty's voice. "I have records from the SEAL team commander as well Ms. Blye. Ms. Hill, one of the remaining team members has been located. He is fine, incredibly upset at the news of his friends' demise but alive. He will be held on base where he is until this is solved for his protection. We are still trying to locate Andrew Tibbs."

"Thank you Hetty." Deeks watched his boss share a look with the younger woman. "Your welcome dear. I have the case files on your desks, Ms. Blye I assume you will be fine to share space with Ms. Hill?"

Annie laughed. "Oh god, how much of a disaster zone am I gonna be in K?" He chuckled. "Oh nothing a small bomb and a few good Clorox wipes and an industrial vacuum wouldn't fix." Kensi huffed as he laughed along with her friend. He smirked at the fake irritated expression she was shooting him.

"Oh shut up. Come on." She stomped off and Annie and Deeks grinned together before following them. Hetty smiled as she watched them go.

Annie was glad that she had made the decision to go to the director. She needed to be here. This team, her friend, she was hopping she could solve this case and get out of her funk. She knew that Kensi suspected that she was here for more than just case support, but she also knew her friend wouldn't bring it up until they were truly alone.

It had been hard enough to have herself called out about Jeramiah. She knew that Kensi would figure it out of course. She could hardly look at the pictures, the evidence that she had nothing six months after her friend's death. It was hard for her to look at any of the faces of the dead she hadn't helped yet, but his was even harder.

To make matters worse she knew that Granger didn't want her here. She was sure he would breathing down all their necks on this one until it was solved and he could put her on a plane back to the other side of the country.

They had never seen eye to eye. She knew that Vance understood her style because of who raised her, who her connections were, but that didn't mean others did, or that they appreciated them passing their tactics to her. She couldn't give less of a damn, she knew she was a great agent. She got results. This case was the first in a long time to trip her up and it was driving her crazy.

She leaned against the coffee table, watching her friend and her partner through the archway. She had to admit, she could see the two of them as being a good pair. Even from only a few hours of interaction. It was clear that they had a bond. She hadn't seen Kensi this free with that many people. She knew how she felt about this team of course. She knew they were like her family, but she hadn't expected her partner that she mentioned all the time to look like a surfer model and for Kensi to be so effortlessly calm in his presence.

Annie watched her friend laugh at something the detective said as he perched on the corner of the hurricane desk, leaning back in her chair and really laughing. She had known that this team was good for Kensi, but she was enjoying seeing the results up close.

"We got the files."

Agents Callen and Hanna rounded the corner into the office space, Callen going straight for the TV. Annie went to back to the pen, coffee clutched in her hands. Show time.

She leaned behind Kensi, not bothered in the slightest that no one but her friend and her partner acknowledged her. She didn't mind the hazing and the inevitable distrust as long at it didn't hinder the solving of this case.

"Okay, so Alpha Charlie was the real deal. They carried out missions all over as agent Hill stated. The CIA thinks that if they are being targeted for old missions it was one of five." Agent Hanna nodded. "One: the elimination of a high ranking ISIS financier in Afghanistan about a year ago. Two: The capture of Taliban operative and an architect of a few bombings. Three: the elimination of a terrorist cell in an Iraqi port town. Four: the capture of an Iraqi war lord. And five: the capture and elimination of a known ISIS operator who was in-route to the Philippines."

Kensi tipped her head back and Annie met her eyes. "So we check the film for any and all people linked with anyone involved in those missions. We could get one hit, none, or more than we can handle."

"We work our way down the list. Jerimiah was only with the unit for two years before he died. He was in training so to speak for about a year of that." Callen nodded. "All of these cases were within that year."

She paused for a moment, thinking. Before she could speak Nell and Eric came clambering down the stairs. "Guys."

By their tone of voice they had something big. "Go Nell." The analyst nodded at her team leader. "So, we began running the feed of the two cameras that could have caught our potential killers. It's going to take a while to sort through it all. But." She looked to Eric who smiled and continued. "We found Agent Ramirez's laptop. It turned on a few minutes ago and I traced it. It was just shut back off but its last known location was an internet café in Hollywood."

Annie stood straighter. "Okay so they are trying to gain access to his computer. That means that either they don't have all the information or they want to gain more from the intel that is no doubt on a CIA employee's personal computer."

"Sam and I will take the café, you three start going through the mission files, see if anything stands out."

"Mr. Callen." At Hetty's call the man turned. "Take Agent Hill. Sam, stay with Deeks and Kensi, your knowledge of SEAL team operations will be much more useful to them." She watched Sam and Callen share a look at the order and then met Hetty's eyes. She was grateful and she let it show.

Hetty knew she was running on fumes and would be better served in the action than behind a desk, especially with how wired she was. Callen turned to her, "let's go."

Annie shared a look with Kensi who winked at her before she followed the agent out to his car. She whistled at the two cars sitting there. A very nice black challenger and an equally pretty jag sat before her. Callen climbed into the Jag.

"This, this is a car." He chuckled. "You're a car girl to huh?" Annie laughed. "Oh yeah. I restored a Yanko right before FLETC. It's my baby." Callen whistled making her smirk before they fell into silence. As he turned them toward Hollywood she felt him considering something.

"You want to know how I heard about you."

Blue eyes locked with hers at the red light they were sitting at, only for a moment as it turned green again quickly. "Yes."

"I know a few agents who you have worked with in the past." He remained quiet and she weighed the pros and cons of sharing who. When she didn't weigh in further he glanced at her. "I don't get to know who."

She sighed. "Look, Kensi knows. Hetty knows. I just don't like to mention it much and I shouldn't have brought it up earlier."

"Knows what." She knew he was a dog with a bone type. _He_ had shared that with her after all. "Gibbs."

She felt his surprise. "You know Gibbs."

"I know a lot of agents but yes. Special Agent Gibbs and I have known each other for a while. He and the Director are the only two who are aware of where I am at the moment. Outside of the team I mean."

"Huh." She laughed. "He wanted me to know a little about what I was walking into. Of course, I have heard the rumors. You guys are a bit legendary and I have heard of you all from Kensi even though she never gave names. It wasn't hard to pick you all out based on what he said and what I knew from her. I slipped up in admitting that I knew but…"

"This case. Is it personal?" She sighed. "Yes. Jeremiah was a friend. I didn't know he was a SEAL. He didn't know just how high my clearance goes so he never told me. I didn't even know what I was walking into until I showed up at the scene."

"That's never easy." She shook her head. "It wasn't. I know his wife. His kid is barely two and will never know his father. The least I can do is figure out who the bastards are that did this and give them some closure but it's been almost six months and I am tired of lying to her and saying we are close when we have nothing."

"And Granger?" Of course he picked up on that. Granger is about as subtle as a damn heart attack. "Granger is not a fan of my style. I'm…old school." Callen surprised her by chuckling. "Define old school?"

"I don't do well with authority. I do things my way. I'm not afraid to go a little outside the box to get the job done. It's how I was raised. He doesn't appreciate that." Again, the man next to her chuckled. "Join the club." At that, Annie felt a smile slid onto her face.

"So, how is Gibbs?" She smiled. "Still Gibbs. He and Hetty go back. He alerted her to my arrival. I had met her, once, a few years back. Before she was here full time. She was both terrifying and inspiring." He chuckled, "sounds about right."

They pulled up outside the café, a sketchy looking joint on a street corner. They both checked their weapons and slid them into place at their back and then she followed him out of the car. "How are we playing this? Agents or cover?" He thought it over. "We don't have a lot to go on so…"

She shared a look with him, "cover." They said it together. He entered and went to the counter, she split away from him and went to a kiosk and logged onto one of the computers', watching the room around her, and spotting for Callen.

He got the Wi-Fi password and made his way to a table with a view and logged in on his phone, pretending to be hard at work, both of them watching for anyone suspicious.

After about forty-five minutes of nothing she got a text from Kensi.

_Nell spotted this man on camera. It's not a great image but he has connections with a few of the targets in two of the cases the team was working. Howard Jamaal. _

She opened the image to be met with an older white man in jeans and a jacket. Needle in a damn haystack. She sent the image and name to Callen, glancing around the room but not seeing him. This was going to be a long stake-out unless the team found something more.

"Howard Jamaal, what do we know about him?" Kensi and the others looked up at Granger's appearance. "He has connections with both ISIS and the Taliban. He is suspected of being a player but he hasn't been caught. His mother was American, his father an Iraqi refugee."

Kensi felt Deeks bump her shin so she glanced at him and he motioned to Granger with his head. She focused all her attention on him and clocked what he had. His eyes had been searching for someone, narrowed when they weren't here and his body was now tense. He was also clearly agitated. The man really did not like Annie.

"Agents Callen and Hill?"

"They are staking out the Internet café where Eric pinged the laptop. He is trying to turn it on remotely again but it is proving difficult." The assistant director met her eyes and she watched them closely but he simply nodded and marched off to Hetty's office.

"Granger does not like your friend Kensalina." She rolled her eyes at the nickname, but nodded. Sam chimed in. "What did she do to tick him off?" Kensi sighed. "She was trained and raised by agents who are not the type he favors. She exhibits their qualities. Makes her a damn good agent, but one that he doesn't like because he can't control her."

Sam snorted. "Join the club." All three of them laughed. Kensi sobered quickly though. She was worried about her friend. This was the first time she had spoken with her in almost a month and she sounded even worse than she had the last time they talked. She was covering it the way she always did, bravado and over-exertion. It was a trait they shared.

"Your friend, how close are you two?" Kensi looked up at Sam's question. "Pretty close. We were the only two female's to not washout that year. We both showed promise that was quickly realized. We kept in touch. Why?"

Sam shrugged. "You never mention her." She smirked at him. "She's a federal agent Sam, I couldn't. I know you have friends in other agencies, you know the drill." The bigger man nodded, seeing her point.

"Got something." They both turned to look at her partner, who she hadn't noticed had gone back to work.

"Agent Ramirez? Yeah he had a few phone calls from unrecognized numbers." He put it up on the screen, "that one is the DC number." Sam pointed to one, eliminating it. "That one is Annie's." Another one down, leaving only one.

"Could be a contact. Still, let's have Eric and Nell run it."

Kensi and Deeks nodded and Deeks sent the message to Nell. Five minutes later Nell came down the stairs. "Guys, that number, it belongs to Tony Garrison, the SEAL team member killed a month ago."

Deeks frowned. "But the call was two weeks ago. And another…" He looked down, "two days before he died." He swore, Sam and Kensi right along with him. "it's possible he was being played. He didn't know that he was dead. It's not information that Annie would have released over the phone or even encrypted email."

"So the killer was talking to the CIA agent?"

Sam chimed in, "it's possible. SEAL teams Agency contacts often have no idea what the men look like or sound like, they just handle the mission logistics and brief any relevant outside players. Its' also possible that they used software to mask their voices, another way to protect identities."

Kensi reached for her phone and sent a message to Annie and Callen.

_Got it. Let us know if you get anything else. We are still fishing. _

She chuckled at Annie's response. Fishing, aka her friend was bored. Eric appeared at the top of the stairs. "Guys, you should see this."

They all made their way to ops, Hetty and Granger were already there. "This was an hour ago." Eric clicked something on his tablet and an image popped up. It was Jamaal. "He hasn't left the building since. At least not in front of any camera I can find."

"Deeks, Blye, take the address, check it out. Bring him in." She shared a look with Deeks at Granger's demand. "Got it. Let us know if anything else comes up."

"Granger called her a loose cannon." Kensi sighed at her partners words. "I guess in some ways she is, at least to him. I would bet he thinks the same of Callen some days. "I get that but he told me to watch her, to make sure you two were reigned in?"

She huffed at that. "Who knows with Granger Deeks." Her partner didn't buy it, she could feel it in his look.

"Look, Annie and I have a reputation. We were… forceful in FLETC because we had to be but it gave us both a rep. Annie, she was trained by agents that have their own codes, their own way of doing things that hasn't made them friends. I guess you could say similar about me, about us. Put that with our reputation from training and it makes men in places of power like Granger uneasy because we are uncontrollable barriers."

At a light a moment later she met his eyes. "Annie and I don't do things half way Deeks. Never have never will." Her partner chuckled at that. "Okay then badass Blye." She laughed a little at the nickname, knowing he was reminded of it by Annie's stories.

"You two are close huh?"

"Annie has been there for me through a lot. It took everything I had not to call her after bailing on Granger's agents that day with Clairmont. I know she would have dropped it all and been on a plane here in minutes."

She watched his head tilt out of the corner of her eye. "So why didn't you." She sighed.

"Annie had called a few days before it all went down, she sounded…off. It's not the first time since she became a roving agent that its happened. She both thrives and hates the constant solitude. Sometimes it gets to her, and I guess that and this case were both affecting her and I didn't want to add to that. Or get her into trouble for dropping everything to come help me. I know she would have but I chose to protect her."

He chuckled, "Well based on your stories, the guy probably would have looked even worse for the wear if she had been there." Kensi snorted. "He wouldn't have been alive to try and kill me on those stairs. Annie doesn't mess around when it's the people she loves in the eyesight's."

They had pulled up to the building and Eric chimed in over comms. "Still no sign of Jamaal. He should be in there."

"Got it Eric." Kensi turned to look at him. "Annie won't be a problem Deeks, okay?" He held his hands up. "I believe you Kensi, just passing along Granger's warning." She nodded and together they slipped out of the car.

The building Jamaal seemed to be camped out in was an old store, though the building had been condemned and the business relocated. Deeks followed Kensi's approach to the door, hand on his gun. Kensi also had a hand behind her back, ready to grab her own weapon. She knocked on the door and announced the presence of two federal agents.

There was no answer, so she tried the door knob. It was unlocked. Showtime. He shared a look with his partner and then they shifted back, Kensi kicked the door in and they both went in guns up. He heard movement and motioned to Kensi that it was coming from his left. She gave him a nod and moved right.

He eased around the first corner and saw Jamaal. He wasn't alone and his friend was aiming a gun right at him. He dropped and rolled back behind the wall he had just rounded as the friend opened fire.

He heard return fire and he leaned out in time to see Kensi duck behind the store bar for cover. Jamaal pulled a gun of his own, and as he was linning up a shot a voice sounded over comms. "Take them alive Detective."

Granger.

He re-adjusted his shot, knowing Kensi had probably heard or received the same order and took his shot. Jamaal fell, clutching his shooting shoulder, his gun still in his hand. His shoot drew the friend's fire, but Kensi took him out.

They moved in, each kicking guns away from the men on the ground. Kensi leaned down, checking the victims. Her target was dead, Jamaal was, thankfully alive. Deeks rolled the groaning man over and cuffed him, yanking him off the ground.

His partner assessed the wound and grumbled about sissies and through and throughs. He chuckled, smirking at the guy in custody.

"I said take them alive Agent Blye." Kensi snorted. "It was take a shot or keep exchanging fire, I did what I had to do Granger. I followed protocol."

Footsteps sounded in the doorway of the boatshed and Callen came striding through, Agent Hill and Sam at his back. "The shop owner says that Jamaal met with the dead assailant at the shop three times including today. Today, Jamaal had a computer the owner hadn't seen him with before."

"Any ID?" Agent Hill shook her head. "Eric's working on it." Callen stepped up to the table, ignoring the tense man next to him. "This guy said anything?" Kensi shook her head. "Nothing except to demand a lawyer."

Callen and Sam shared a look, Annie clocked the bandage. "Nice shot detective." He grinned, dipping his head in thanks. Then Eric appeared on the screen. "Okay, so our dead guy was a hit. He is a suspected money runner for the cartels. His name is Jose Hernandez. His most recent cartel link is…" Annie cut him off. "The Molina Cartel."

Eric's forehead wrinkled. "Uh yeah, good guess." She shook her head. "Not a guess. Seven months ago, the last mission before the SEAL team separated, they undertook a mission to intercept and contain drug money flowing back from the Molina Cartel to terrorist groups in Afghanistan. They were to break up the supply chain. They captured a low ranking cartel member and killed two suspected terrorists in the bust. They recovered drugs and money, breaking up the flow. The mission was smooth and successful with only low ranking members involved, probably why it didn't make the CIA's list."

"Do you think that is the cause of this A? A drug bust gone wrong?" Annie met her friends eyes. "Truthfully, I'm not sure. The case seemed opened and closed. There was no suspected survivors of the bust that could ID the team and everything was recovered and the captured cartel member…" she trailed off thinking. "As far as I know he was carted off to a military prison, not Gitmo, but high security to be held for further questioning. He was the only survivor."

"So a cartel money guy and Jamaal were in the café, both seen with a laptop that was probably the agency laptop missing from our CIA friend. That would mean that either Jamaal was part of the take out or he knows who did it."

At Sam's words all heads in the room turned to the screen again but Kensi was shaking her head. "We announced ourselves. They could have fled out the back, they were not situationally aware, there is no way that those two could have taken out a CIA agent. Jamaal shots all went wide and we know that the killer or killers is professional. My guess is he knows who did it and he is their fall guy. He was seen with the computer, he was meeting with a cartel member, he was arrested."

"This was distraction." Kensi nodded at her friend. "Yeah, a trail for us to chase while the real killers crack the encryption key or flee the country, going after the last two targets." Annie nodded. "it's what I would do. Take out the targets that are more easily accessible in the US, including the handler that may be pointing other agencies in your direction and then move to the two harder targets, probably with much larger teams and take them out with what just look like death in the line of duty, but why this team and why that mission?"

Deeks chuckled internally, everyone was watching them go back and forth, and he had to admit, they were both good. That was a solid theory. "Maybe it wasn't just a drug bust? They could have found something else, something worth killing for that wasn't ever put into a report?"

Both female agents shifted to look at him and Sam nodded. "He's right. The only reason to send a SEAL team in for a bust like that is if there is something more at stake. Otherwise a mission of that caliber, that type, it would have gone to someone else. There was either someone or something else suspected of being at that meet."

All eyes turned to Granger. "I'll make some calls, see what you can get out of this guy in the meantime." With that the Assistant Director left the boatshed. Kensi placed a hand on her friends arm. "Take a shower A, get a nap in. We will question him and I'll let you know if we get anything but you look dead on your feet."

Her friend smiled at her. "Thanks, I'll head back to ops."

"There's a spare key to my place in the drawer of my desk, take it and crash at mine." Annie nodded. "Thanks K."


End file.
